More than 100 families consider suing childcare centres after Joshua Brown sex abuse claims

5 hours ago 3

A parent whose child was one of eight children allegedly abused by accused Melbourne paedophile Joshua Dale Brown is suing their former daycare centre for damages, as dozens of other families seek legal advice.

Arnold Thomas & Becker said it was filing a claim against national childcare giant G8 – the operator of several centres where Brown worked – on behalf of the parent, while more than 100 families had contacted the firm for legal advice.

The parent’s child was allegedly abused while at Creative Garden Early Learning Centre in Point Cook, which is the centre where police say it has confirmed eight children were allegedly abused.

Given the influx of inquiries, Arnold Thomas & Becker said it would hold a free information night for parents on Thursday night.

Brown, 26, is in custody and will be brought to court in September to face more than 70 charges, including sexually penetrating a child under 12, attempting to sexually penetrate a child under 12, sexually assaulting a child under 16 and producing child abuse material. Any civil cases will not affect the charges against Brown, which must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Principal lawyer Jodie Harris said families felt confused and alone as they faced three-hour waits for hotlines about the crisis before being provided with generic information.

“There’s a lot of misinformation, parents are reeling with where do they turn to for answers,” she said.

The charges against childcare worker Joshua Dale Brown, 26, were revealed on Tuesday after a suppression order was lifted.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said they were continuing to work through new information about Brown’s employment history and childcare providers were co-operating fully with police.

“This assessment is being completed by police as a priority. We understand that many in the community are feeling concerned and anxious, however, it is incredibly important that this information is confirmed, then thoroughly reviewed with other relevant agencies prior to any public release,” a spokesperson said.

Harris said the firm had been contacted by families whose children were alleged victims as well as parents who had been told to get their child tested for STIs.

“Those parents are traumatised, a lot of them. One parent is ringing me saying the other one can’t get out of bed; ‘We’ve taken [the child] for testing, had to hold our children down screaming for blood tests’. Some of them have had more intimate examinations than that.

“It’s difficult to explain to [the children] why.”

Harris said some parents were now worried whether their child’s nappy rash or recurrent urinary tract infections might be related to the scandal.

“They don’t know. It’s difficult because the kids can’t verbalise it,” she said.

A parent whose two-year-old and 18-month-old attended Aussie Kindies Early Learning in Keilor while Brown worked there told The Age that authorities had advised them to seek medical testing for their children.

The parent, who wished to remain anonymous because of the sensitivities of the case, said that, in the absence of information, parents were trying to use childcare app Storypark to check whether Brown had had contact with their child, but posts with Brown in them had been removed.

“Photos of Joshua Brown with children – including our own – have been deleted. When questioned, Affinity stated the reason was to avoid appearing to “promote paedophilia”, which we found highly inappropriate and alarming,” the parent said.

They said the removal of posts raised concerns about the accuracy and preservation of information that could be critical to understanding what had happened.

“This has been an incredibly distressing and traumatic experience for our family,” they wrote.

Harris said dozens of families had contacted their childcare centre, desperate for information, but centres had provided very little details.

She said the apps had given parents the opportunity to look at past photos to see if the alleged abuser had worked alongside their children.

In a letter sent to families who have children in Affinity Group childcare centres on Friday, chief executive Tim Hickey said they had a zero-tolerance approach to abuse or misconduct involving children, and that posts and photos were being removed from Storypark on the request of families.

“All images have been shared with police. The images have been archived, not permanently deleted.”

A G8 spokesperson said the company was co-operating with police and relevant authorities. She said G8’s focus was supporting affected children, families and staff.

“To support our families, confidential counselling and support is available through G8 Education’s dedicated provider, we are waiving all fees charged for absences and any family who chooses to end care has had their notice period waived.”

Arnold Thomas & Becker’s information evening is on Thursday, July 10, at 6.30pm at the Sanctuary Lakes Function and Event Centre in Point Cook. Register at: https://www.arnoldthomasbecker.com.au/cai.